HL Deb 31 March 1988 vol 495 c865

11.20 a.m.

Lord Gainford asked Her Majesty's Government:

How the £30 million from the "Waiting List Fund" will be allocated for 1988–89.

Lord Skelmersdale

My Lords, the £30 million has been allocated on the basis of projects put to us by regional health authorities. The allocations will fund over 350 projects aimed at treating at least 100,000 extra cases.

Lord Gainford

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for that Answer. Is the waiting time not more important to patients than the waiting list? Can he comment on the situation in Scotland?

Lord Skelmersdale

My Lords, I agree with my noble friend that what matters to the individual patient is the time he or she has to wait for treatment rather than the size of the list. Half of all admissions to hospital are immediate. For those who wait, half are admitted within seven weeks or less. It is the small but worrying proportion who have to wait for an unacceptedly long time on which we wish to concentrate the most effort. The most recent figures, for March 1987, show that we are continuing to make progress. The number of people on the waiting list waiting over a year fell by over 2,000 to 23.6 per cent. of the total list. That is the lowest proportion in the 12 years since the figure was first collected.

So far as Scotland is concerned, my honourable friend the Under-Secretary of State with special responsibility for health matters in Scotland announced on Tuesday that as part of a major campaign to reduce waiting lists and waiting times he had set aside a waiting list fund of £3 million for 1988–89.

Lord Prys-Davies

My Lords, can the Minister confirm that the waiting list initiative is not having an adverse effect on the specialties which do not benefit from that particular initiative in that they do not have to give up beds and release theatre time in favour of the initiative? Are those waiting lists building up to an unacceptable level?

Lord Skelmersdale

No, my Lords. So far as I am aware that is not the case. The regional health authorities, which suggest projects for funding to the departments, are making sure that that does not happen.